ASMAC, the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers, is one of the most prestigious organizations of actively working composers in the world. I had the great honor to give a presentation at one of their seminars yesterday, which was both a pleasure and a daunting thing because at least half of the audience was people who I respect very much and whose insights I would love to listen to in a seminar. The seminar was titled The Art Of Music Preparation “Notation Creation.” The event tonight basically walked through the music preparation process in the hopes that we could give the audience some usable tips and tricks about the best ways to get their music from concept to finished, …
Sheet Music: The Map To Your Score
Originally published Spring 2017 in The Score, the quarterly journal of The Society of Composers & Lyricists, by Designing Music Now, and by Scoring Notes. Not every score will need to be written down as sheet music before it’s recorded. However, if you’re hiring musicians those players almost always need something written down for them. Scoring for media is very particular and the parts for live players are usually written out note for note. Composers vary widely in their need and ability to notate their ideas, but generally the larger the project is and the more live musicians there are, the more important sheet music becomes. I’m fortunate to work almost exclusively with live ensembles. As a result, my career …
Sheet Music, the map to your score – article in The Score
I have written another front page article for The Score, the quarterly journal of the Society of Composers and Lyricists. This article is a quick how-to guide about the fastest ways to get music out of a sequencer or DAW and into printed notation as quickly as possible. In it I share some tips and tricks from my two decades of experience in sheet music preparation that may help to improve or streamline your processes, hopefully resulting in more free time and better art. You can read the whole magazine online.
Michael Buble & David Foster
Pop/jazz sensation Michael Buble is going back into the studio to start a new album, and I helped to get him and his arranger/producer extraordinare David Foster started. I did some transcriptions of songs and setup up robust sheet music templates for them to use while shaping the new album. That sheet music will carry them through the album recording and the live tours.
ZMX signs with BMG
At ZMX Music we have just signed a blanket license with BMG, so we anticipate a great partnership and an expanded roster of artists in the near future! As of today we are now working with the bands Beach House,Metric, Anarbor, and Mustard Plug, and I expect there will be many more fantastic bands coming soon.
Don Lardie book of transcriptions
Don Lardie was a blind composer and piano teacher who died several years ago. He recorded his compositions with a cheap old cassette player, and because of his blindness they were never written down. I had the honor of helping to preserve his legacy and recently completed transcribing his entire catalogue, a little more than 200 pages of solo piano music.
Tegan and Sara album release
Today Tegan and Sara released their newest and much awaited album Heartthrob through Warner Brothers. ZMX simultaneously published and released sheet music to go along with it, so if you’re a fan of Tegan and Sara check out their website. The girls will be touring the album for much of 2013.
ZMX signs Mayday Parade
ZMX Music has signed Mayday Parade, and we’re very happy to have them on board with us. The pop-punk band from Tallahassee, Florida, is just coming off the Warped Tour and just released a new self-titled album.
Bonnie Weiss music book complete
Bonnie Weiss is a songwriter and composer who has been working on a new book of music, most of which is arrangements for piano and voice. I did the music engravings for her, we completed the music preparation today, and it looks fantastic. Here is one example of her writing from a recent performance.